Ryan Giggs

“Where I grew up, people obviously knew my dad because it's a small place and he was the top player for Swinton - they'd go and watch him play, see him in the papers, so they knew he was black.”

“If I feel I'm not influencing games, not scoring goals or making goals, then that's the time I'd pack it in.”

“You get yourself prepared for a big game, you get yourself up for it. Then afterwards you don't sleep or eat properly.”

“I have always considered myself to be very fortunate. To play for the biggest club in the world, which also happens to be the team I supported as a boy, means I have never had to consider changing away from Manchester United.”

“Celebrity culture, it's everywhere, isn't it? It's reality TV, Big Brother. I didn't become a footballer to be famous, I became a footballer to be successful. I didn't want to be famous. Now people want to be famous. Why? Why would you want people following you about all day?”

“As players, you just play for the club. I love Man United, I'm going to play for Man United, and that's what my focus is on.”

“There's never been completion in my football career because I've always been striving for that next thing.”

“What you've got to realise is that footballers, and me in particular, have seen everything in the changing room. Everything. I've seen the manager kicking off with the players, the players kicking off with him, players fighting each other, managers fighting, everything.”

“A lot of people don't know that my father is black.”

“It's not just the players, it's the culture. Sometimes it's the people around them; the people who are looking after them - the money they're given. Some of the families give up their jobs and live off their sons. That would never have happened 10 years ago.”

“I do not wish to hide my origins, nor do I seek to make it a subject of conversation. I am what I am.”

“My dad played rugby, so I used to watch a lot of rugby union and rugby league.”

“My weight doesn't really fluctuate, but I make sure I don't eat late at night. It's about making sure I'm right physically because mentally I'm OK.”

“I like to let my football do the talking, I'm respectful of other good teams such as Arsenal.”

“Many players want to make as much money as they can and change teams for ten grand. How is that going to make much difference to their lives?”

“I've always had people come up to me to say that they admire the way I play, and then they tell me they're not United fans. That's always been nice.”

“I had my footballing heroes such as Bryan Robson and Diego Maradona but my dad was a rugby league star, and he was my real hero. But the relationship with my mum was rocky and we saw things that would affect any youngster.”

“I am proud of my black roots and of the black blood that runs in my veins.”

“Every footballer wants to play forever. And if you are going to keep on playing - to enjoy it to the full - you want to win games, and as a result, trophies.”

“Where does it stop? You get offered money for your wedding, then for your kids, new houses, holidays... We earn enough from football and sponsorships, why do you need any more?”